By John Oyuke
The Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) has ramped up its engagement with the media as it seeks to secure the financial future of every Kenyan.
Chief executive officer Mr Charles Machira said the increased partnership between the media and the regulator – both in the business of public education – will ensure that more citizens have adequate, secure savings for their retirement and other economic exigencies.
“Retirement should not be a period of financial mourning. We want to shift the narrative from ‘the struggle of the elderly’ to ‘the dignity of the prepared.’ Your stories can bridge that gap,” he said during an engagement with editors in Nairobi.
As part of the strategic media sensitisation drive, RBA is also expected to meet Financial and Business reporters in Nairobi this week before moving to engage reporters in the counties.
“Working with the Media Council of Kenya and Kenya Editors Guild, we intend to engage over 200 journalists in this financial year alone following a similar engagement two years ago. The counties earmarked for this financial year include Nairobi, Nyeri, Machakos, Kisumu, Kakamega and Eldoret,” Machira disclosed.
The start of the deeper partnership with the media also comes at a time Kenyan journalists are facing a severe retirement crisis, with many falling into poverty due to a combination of persistent unpaid salaries, unremitted statutory pension deductions by media houses, and a lack of personal savings.
Mass layoffs and precarious working conditions have combined to transform the media industry into a “hard” environment for professionals. Many journalists live “hand to mouth,” resulting in little to no savings by the time they reach retirement age.
The Authority expects the increased partnership to help inculcate into the scribes the need to develop a stronger saving culture and better personal financial management even as they communicate to others that the pension industry is safe, regulated, and professional.
Machira noted that the biggest growth opportunity lies in the informal sector, saying: “We want to work with you to simplify complex pension concepts so that the ‘Mama Mboga’ or the ‘Gig Worker’ understands that retirement saving is for them too, not just for the salaried elite.”
He expressed confidence that empowering journalists with technical knowledge and data will ensure that every Kenyan, whether in formal employment or the informal sector, receives the right information to make informed decisions about their financial future.
